Ascent Trip Report

The Simcoe County Highpoint is located on the Niagara Escarpment (a World Biosphere Reserve) at the west end of the County, south of Collingwood. This is beautiful area on Ontario.I made 2 visit to this summit and for the sake of convenience I amended/have this one only TR.

FIRST VISIT (2010-04-22) ..... a not recommended no-no from the west side.From Barrie (Hwy #400, exit 96B) travel west on Hwys #90/10/26 for 48km to the village of Duntroon. At the stop light continue west on CR #91 for 5.4km as it climbs the Escarpment to a T-junction with Grey Road #31 (Osprey-Clearview Townline). Turn left (south) and drive 1.5km to the entrance (house #794315) on the left of Carmarthan Lake Farms ...... a beautiful well-groomed private area with a number of homes around a small lake. The Highpoint is straight ahead (east) on an obvious wooded hill at about 1/2 km.

I went up to the tractor-operator cutting grass to ask for permission to visit the Highpoint, the guy (who happened to be the manager of the place) would not allow access ...... apparently the owner who lives in BC does not want people on the property for liability reasons (so he says). To me this is plain bs and typical of paranoid rich people who love their gated security.

I was not a happy camper so we came back and drove a track to the southeast side of the summit and bushwacked/ran to the summit (fairly open woods with little underbrush) and quickly got out with no one seeing us. It made my day .... this is not recommended however without the owners permission.

SECOND VISIT (2012-08-19)We were in the area so I decided to revisit/check-out the route from the northeast side, using the instructions in my fellow Peakbagger's TRs.From the road Junction #31/91 (per above) we drove east on 91 for 1.8km to Bruce Trail Duntroon Side Trail Parking on the left (north) side (it is .8km east to Concession 10/Nottawasaga road). This was my TH.

I walked across the road and climbed the fence-stile, the blue blazed trail heads west along the fence line for 200M before turning south for another 200M and another fence-stile (this is the Bruce Trail right-of-way). I didn't go over the stile, I stayed right for 40M before crossing under the fence at a Bruce Trail sign where a grass track went south 100M to another Bruce trail right-of-way sign. I continued south on the track for another 75M to a orange taped herd path that I followed west perhaps 150M to the west fence line of the Walker Quarry.I turned south along the fence line for 200M then bushwacked southwest 100M to the top of a ridge where I picked up a wide maintained grass track. I went right as the track descends left and in 100+M meets up with the GPS Track route used by Derek at the north end of the low boggy area. From here on I followed Derek, I estimate my route at 3+KM.

Where the grass track turns/heads westbound towards the HP area it crosses a track (to the left at 100M is where I started my bushwack during my first visit). The westerly bound track reaches a height-of-land at 200M past this track, and continues 50M before it turns north. The HP is in the woods, left of the height-of-land at 30M by a bunch of rocks. A BM is embedded in a large rock "Geodetic Survey of Canada, 17300A", a cable is hanging from a tree, I added a cairn to the rock, my GPS read 44.37151,-80.24882.

I saw 3 ATVers and 6 mountain bikers (through the woods in the distance, at presumably a trail), combined with the nice maintained grass tracks and lack of private signs at the HP area tells me that the public can use these tracks.